There are a lot of people captivated by the mountains of Georgia.
Jozef Antala, a mountain lover from Slovakia is one of them.

He created a webpage about trekking throughout Caucasus, since there was a very scarce information about trekking in this area.

His page is really helpful and it is based on his own experiences. Jozef Antala shares his recommendations about hiking in the great Caucasus Mountains and offers a guide to the best tracks for wildlife lovers.

Journal contacted Jozef who elaborated on his active lifestyle and impressions about Georgia. -Could you elaborate on yourself, your website and people who work with you?

-There is no team. I have several great contributors, but still, the website is written by 95% by me.

I am the mountain lover from Slovakia with some IT background. Few years ago, I decided to learn webdesign, wanted to create some practice web and was looking for a good niche. Hiking in Slovakia would be the obvious choice, but there were already some really good webs I couldn't compete with my newbie site. So I picked "Trekking in Georgia" as I'd already visited country several times. Luckily for me, there was (and to some degree, still is) very little info online so people had to visit my website, even though it was very ugly. This encouraged me, I spent more time working on the web and so on...Abano pass. Photo courtesy Migawki z podróży

-What attracts you most about Georgia?

-I find your country attractive because of its beautiful, crowd-free and safe mountains, low prices and that mix of familiar and exoticsituations. As I come from the former Soviet bloc, many things feel familiar to me and yet, at the same time, I feel that Georgia and Georgians can also always surprise me.Baki pass. Photo courtesy Trekking in Caucasus

-You have traveled in Georgia's highlands. Could you share your impressions about Georgia's landscape ? Which places have you visited?

To keep it short, I hiked in all regions of Georgian Greater Caucasus with the exception of Lagodekhi park. I like how wild and "undeveloped" they feel. Someone compared them to "Alps 100 year ago" and I think it´s spot on. Of course, increased inflow of tourists is taking its toll, but it´s still very easy to avoid crowds as they tend to stick to few selected places (partially because of the limited info available online).Koruldi lakes in Svaneti. Photo courtesy Billy Bilikhodze

-Could you single out few places that impressed you the most?

I love waking up at the remote mountain lakes such as Tobavarchkhili or Udziro. My another favorite place is Shatili and, in general, whole Upper Khevsureti region. Its history, legends, towers and khatis, lack of people - this place has a special atmosphere for me.Near Kazbegi. Photo courtesy Trekking in Caucasus

-What are your future plans, which places are you planning to explore next?

If there is a chance in the future, I would like to hike from Tbatana in the Pankisi gorge into Tusheti or traverse the length of Lechkhumi ridge. And return to the Tobavarchkhili lake. And finally visit Lagodekhi. And maybe also visit some other country.